Every Day I Wonder What I will Wonder Next

By Lori Berggren

Welcome future Wonder-ologists. (An expert in the art of wondering)

I am so glad you have decided to venture outside of your comfort zone and into the wonder zone. It is a special place, if I do say so myself. And I am sure, if you are like me, it is a place you have not thought of visiting for quite some time. And for those of you who have never thought about being curious again, re-opening wonder inside yourself or even why the heck you really need to, follow me. We can reconnect with wonder together and drop stress off on the corner of here, there, and everywhere. Let me start by saying that this is not a self-help book but a self-discovery book, if you are open to all its possibilities. I truly believe it is worth writing about, knowing, discovering, and sharing. That is why this book exists. With the world being in such turmoil and disarray, we need something else to focus on, hold on to, be a part of, and fill our tanks. This book may cause an increase in silliness, a definite desire to wander, pee your pants kind of laughter, tears in the name of change, deep knowledge of yourself, love, growth, uncontainable joy, inability to stop smiling, decrease in stress, lessons about the future and the past, do's and don'ts, peer pressure and decisions. There is so much more to experience, to feel, to do, and to be a part of, so let's begin. Save a little extra money, I guarantee there will be an increase in your gas bill for the overall wandering wondering that is about to happen just because of you! Enjoy but don't say I didn't warn you!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kindle Direct Publishing
• Release date: Feb 9, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215050521

Book preview

Neverland

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Pieces of wonder slowly break away from us as we age, I am not sure where they go exactly or even how to retrieve them.  I have looked out the window, through doorways and rooftops, finding nothing.  I have looked over horizons, into the moonlight, and under the sun. Nothing. Looking and not finding anything caused me to lose faith in  imagination,  simple joys and being spontaneous.  Did I ever really have any of those extra special, little child-like, wide eyed, open arms, catch my breath moments?  I wonder sometimes. I really wonder.  I think growing up catches us off guard, changes our beginnings, turning our minds into endless long treacherous tunnels of  needs, wants, must haves, now’s, and tomorrows.  Wonder, magic flashes and hours of imaginative play have nowhere to go, nowhere to jump around inside of us, so they bounce away. Dreams then become harder to grasp, fading into floating clouds of time.  Causing life to taste dull and soggy,  and all the dandelions become just wish less weeds, hanging their heads as if in shame.  It is as if monotony stuffed life in our pockets, crumpled, torn with lines reading blah, blah, blah, blah, blah....  nope, not today. I wait and I wait and wait, and then, out of the blue, with no warning, no reason, something special catches my eye like a falling star. One perfectly red balloon just floating alone in a cornfield, bobbing with happiness.  Did it float there, on my road, as a smile, to wake me free? That one single lovely image has stuck with me over the past two years bringing up feelings of youth and innocence before adulting took over.  I stopped one day and thought about that balloon, needing to find it again,  wanting to embrace the part of me that I had abandoned, we all abandon.  I closed my eyes tight, and she reached for me,  my inner child from within, my heart. I had not looked there.  She was waiting to melt away my dullness, staleness,  turning my light on inside, lifting aged fogginess, one breath at a time.  Pixie dust, Neverland and the lost boys now drift through me. Always open windows daily, leaving wonders to never cease.  I wonder if owls know how wise they are. I wonder if mistletoe shares each kiss, it has witnessed I wonder how long it takes grass to grow and why is it green? What will you wonder next?

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Today I Wonder____________________________ Date_________________________

Wonder Is...

A vision, a feeling you sometimes just cannot explain. But you suddenly find that wanting to immerse yourself in curiosity, wonder and imagination becomes an exhilarating want. And up until now, I will bet you had no idea where those feelings went and when you lost them. Now it’s time to begin your new Wonder journey. 

The inside of wonder is like seeing a rainbow before the rain, or your frog prince that jumps in your pocket for comfort, or the stars at night that appear to shine just for you. A dragonfly that lands on your shoulder as if wanting conversation and the butterfly that knows when you are seeking more, landing diligently, right on the tip of your nose, and stays there.

My definition, to be in wonder is an emotional response to nonsense that makes sense, looking past what you normally see, and suddenly realize it is becoming something else right before your eyes. A fleeting thought that will not go away, a moment that sticks to you like gum, an empty chair filled with endless, boundless conversations and laughter with your inner child who cannot wait to play again.  That is Wonder.

I have tried to remember when my wonder left me alone. Thirteen sticks in my mind. I was becoming a woman and had a rough time not knowing what to do, what was happening, and how to make it stop. As much as I remember wanting to be a grown-up, if that was any indication, I thought no thank you. I did not enjoy my teenage years.

I stayed to myself a lot. The rest is a little bit of a blur. Wonder left, or I lost it, or I just never nurtured my wonder self-enough to keep it thriving. I never knew how much I needed to cherish that part of myself before authoring this book. Now, I am in wonder every day!

But life just rolls on without us sometimes and we get lost before we know it. My wonder light rebooted somewhere in 2020. I wrote about it in my Wonderduction. I hope the timeline is correct! But regardless, I was about fifty-three when I was greeted by two wondrous cows and a red balloon bobbing in a cornfield. At that point in my life, there was nowhere else to venture, so I welcomed Wonder in and let it take me where it wanted to go.

So, for all of you, wonder about this moment you’re standing in right now. Allow it to fill you to the rim like the greatest cup of coffee in the world.

Marinate the intensity in your mind, your soul, let it live on the tip of your nose all the way to the tip of your toes. Take the word wonder, hold on to each letter, and then pull them apart from the word wonderful, and what do you get?

Everything happening now, fun, do, rule, fuel, on the way to fullness overflowing, and really see where wonder can lead you. And if you are already living your best wandering wondering life, pay it forward, give a smile, get a smile, be you for everyone every day. And thank you for paving the way.

Today I Wonder________________________________ 

Date_________________________

When did your wonder light reboot?

If your wonder light has not yet rebooted, not to worry.  Wonder will find you.

Use this space to write about your reboot.

Today I Wonder________________________________

Date_________________________

Dedication...

To those that feel lost, alone, empty, not enough, wilted, bewildered, seeking more,  and wanting to believe in themselves, love, in life,  and in humanity, I dedicate this book to all of you. I got you.

In wonderment of you...

We have not met in person  You and I,  but I know there are pieces of  imperfections in us both,  images that connect us, change us,  as we share those pieces together.  I am inspired by you because you are here             taking a chance, a leap, to be in       wonderment of yourself, your life,          showing courage, sensing more within you ready to belong somewhere different,

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anywhere,      blooming everywhere,     like wildflowers in the moonlight, as         wonder then brushes itself across the sky         writing in the stars, we believe in beautiful you  star light, star bright,  I wish we may, I wish we might,         floating free to shine even in the darkest night.

Wonderific Wonder Warning...

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This book may cause an increase in silliness, a definite desire to wander, pee your pants kind of laughter, tears in the name of change, deep knowledge of yourself, love, growth, uncontainable joy, inability to stop smiling, decrease in stress, lessons about the future and the past, do’s and don’ts, peer pressure and decisions. 

There is so much more to experience, to feel, to do, and to be a part of, so let’s begin.

Save a little extra money, I guarantee there will be an increase in your gas bill for the overall wandering wondering that is about to happen just because of you!

Enjoy but don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Wonderduction

Welcome future Wonder-ologists. (An expert in the art of wondering) 

I am so glad you have decided to venture outside of your comfort zone and into the wonder zone. It is a special place if I do say so myself. And I am sure, if you are like me, it is a place you have not thought of visiting for quite some time. And for those of you who have never thought about being curious again or re-opening wonder inside yourself or even why the heck you really need to follow me. We can reconnect with wonder together and drop stress off on the corner of here, there, and everywhere.

Let me start by saying that this is not a self-help book but self-discovery, if you are open to all its possibilities. I truly believe it is worth writing, knowing, discovering, and sharing and that is why this book exists. With our world being in such turmoil and disarray, we need something else to focus on, hold on to, be a part of and fill our tanks.

This is a book I wrote because I discovered a way to change my thinking, my attitude, my todays, tomorrows and even yesterdays, by stopping, looking around and gathering some perspective on the life around me. It has given me the opportunity to reflect on my choices and mistakes. To really take in something different. I wanted to open for you the possibility that something so simple could make a big difference, make confidence root itself again and grow to the walls and spread like ivy, so to speak.

If you’re thinking you already have it all together, you are happy, perfect in your surroundings, and genuinely love your life and don’t need this book, I am here to tell you that you do!! And even together people need to be knee deep in wonder too!

Maybe it’s not for you, but for a friend, kids, family, everyone on your list to share with. There is always more to see, experience, climb over, jump into, share and be a part of, so I would like to wander there together.

I have never been a wanderer. A planner, goal oriented, organized down to the T, list it girl that must map things out daily, but never a wanderer. Just the idea of living aimlessly without a carefully thought-out plan just did not fit who I thought I was. Monotonous, boring, and stable are the words that described me. My life has been good. Bumps and struggles along the way, but that goes for everyone, really. At the time of writing this book, I was about to turn fifty-six I realized somewhere around 54, 55 that being halfway through my time here on earth, I was not engaged in how the rest of my life might go. I did not have a plan and I am a planner. My life consisted of work, home, husband, family, bills, and errands. I was meandering, going through the motions, letting life live around me instead of me living directly in the center, the action, the heart. 

How could that change? What could I do differently? And did I really want to? I think maybe most of us would like to tweak ourselves just a bit, but the idea can be daunting. We do not have time in our short 24-hour days, so what’s the point?

At least, that is how I was feeling. I discovered that my fear stopped me from the simplest flip in my attitude. No one likes to change. I do not like change because failure might be on the other side.

One day in October 2020, whether I liked it or not, change was coming. And I am continuing to discover that’s how change happens.

I was driving to see my son who lives a couple of hours from me. I always travel back roads, because there is no traffic, and a peaceful drive gives me time to just be with myself. On this trip, I’m guessing I was singing at the top of my lungs to the radio as I always do and dancing in my car, when I then turned to look out the window. I burst out laughing and turned around to see if what I saw was really what I had seen. YUP. Oh, how I wished I had taken a picture. Cows standing in an open field close to the road. Maybe a dozen or so. But what caught me were these two jet black cows one behind the other. One of the back cows was lazily resting his chin on the other cow’s rump as if taking a moment to ponder his day, or flirting a little, and maybe buttering her up for a little more. Was she in the mood? I wondered. I was fascinated with this picture happening in front of me. It reminded me of times I would put my head on my husband’s shoulder, look up at him and smile. Flirting and setting the mood. It happily worked almost every time. I drove up the road a little way, turned around in hopes of capturing a picture of them in their human-like moment, to find that in fact, they were both in the mood and not the right time for me to snap a picture, if you know what I mean. I was a little embarrassed that I had seen them in all their glory. Like catching my parents in the act. Some things one just can’t unsee.

I have never forgotten that brilliant, amazing cow moment. I was certainly in the right place at the right time. I smiled the entire way to my son’s that day and laughed at the entire scene. I felt different the rest of the day, even my son noticed that I seemed somehow lighter, less stressed or distracted. Everywhere we went that day I was nonstop talking about the tree’s, goats in the fields, mailboxes, street names, old cars on the roads. He finally said, Mom, what’s gotten into you? The only explanation I had was seeing something that had surprised and enchanted me, especially when I had not been looking for it. What if I had been actively looking, what else could I see? It was in the spontaneity of the moment that made it so fulfilling.

The word wonder came to mind, and I am honestly not sure why, but it had become a feeling of wanting to open my windows, open my eyes and really look for things I had never paid attention to before every day. I was excited, giddy, like a part of me had woken up suddenly and wanted to play, explore and, yes, wander aimlessly, in hopes of finding wonders.

Go, see, do, try, do not stop, make a real bucket list, no more humdrum, no fear, (well...maybe still a little fear). The child inside of me was grabbing my hand, I couldn’t say no. I admit I was not familiar with this word until a few years ago when I began noticing life living around me and became curious.

More with my eyes at first and then my mind caught up, I began pondering, questioning wonder.

I started calling my new way of looking at the world, wonder-blooms.

Everything appeared to be blooming, dancing out, or presenting itself in front of me everywhere I went. I was astounded by all the interesting, unexplainable oddities I had missed by driving blindly through towns, my neighborhood, communities, and other places, having never really seen anything except the things I had to pay attention to. Life is busy and complicated and overwhelming at times with very little downtime for some of us and very few ways to release ourselves over to something other than our responsibilities. We are not taught to continue the art of wondering or imagining as adulthood pounces upon us. We forget the question, to be curious, to explore. We grow up.

Think about that when wonder begins to bloom in you. It’s a way to allow our minds to react to the beauty, to question behaviors, integrity, honesty, imaginations, sand boxes, the monkey bars, our feet on fresh grass, how those things make us feel, how they may take our breath away, change us, gives us purpose, reasons for dancing, smiling, playing or just being who we are. And all because one day we woke up, stopped, and wondered ourselves into peaceful blooming moments where wonder will never cease.

I created a wonder formula for each wonder to be like little breadcrumbs marking the way to magic lining the roads we travel every day and miss. These are for you to pick up and put in your pockets when you feel lost, alone, sad and like no one understands. I got you.

Today I Wonder ______________________________________ 

Date_________________________